Developer plans conservation development in Tusten

400 units would be targeted to the second-home market

By FRITZ MAYER

NARROWSBURG, NY — A developer wants to build 400 townhouses in a new development planned for the area surrounding Feagles Lake.

Steve Adler, who with his partner Stuart Venner has owned 380 acres surrounding the lake located at the intersection of Route 97 and Bridge Street for 20 years, presented a concept sketch of the proposed development to the Tusten Planning Board on August 20. It was the first time the board has seen the project, and planning board chairman Ed Jackson said the board offered no opinion on it.

Adler said the proposal is a planned-use development, which would feature 100 two-story buildings, each with four townhouses of about 1,600 square feet. He said the undeveloped lakefront on the side of the lake that is furthest from Route 97, and the ridgeline, are the two most valuable assets of the parcel. But his plan would leave the lakeshore and the ridgeline forever undeveloped.

He said he is essentially a “tree-hugger,” who is interested in making the development as environmentally friendly as possible.

The units, which would sell in the $350,000 range, would likely attract buyers in the second-home market. These buyers, said Adler, are good for the town and county because they would pay taxes, but as weekenders, they would not use many local services and their children would not attend local schools.

Adler said the townhouses would be for people who don’t necessarily want to take care of a yard, but who want to live in a community with a “woodsy feel.”

Adler would like to be able to have the development hook into the town water and sewer district.

Tusten supervisor Ben Johnson said that while some of the property is in the sewer district, it was far too early to know whether the sewer system could serve the development. He said there are many questions to be answered, such as what sort of upgrades the system might need.

Moreover, the zoning code in Tusten doesn’t allow for planned-used developments, so changes to the zoning laws will be necessary if it is to go through as planned. Also, it’s not yet clear what impact the new comprehensive plan, which has not yet been formally adopted, might have on the development.

There is also the question of the sagging second-home market in the area. Adler said it’s clear that the market is softer than it was a few years ago, but that this is a long-term plan, and as such is not affected much by the soft second-home market.

The concept sketch calls for the creation of a new two-mile road that would begin at Route 97 near attorney Jeffrey Clemente’s office and snake through the wooded property to another entrance on Route 97 about a mile to the north.

The plan calls for 58 acres to be used for the development, while 306 acres would be designated conservation open space.